amfAR’s $100 million Countdown to a Cure initiative is aimed at
developing the scientific basis of a cure for HIV by the end of 2020.
The urgency of our goal demands that we direct our funding to studies
that uncover vital knowledge directly applicable to curing HIV
in people living with HIV/AIDS. amfAR expects to solicit projects
through this RFP that provide proofs of concept in clinical,
preclinical or basic research that are crucial to informing and designing future curative interventions.
Persistent reservoirs of virus not cleared by antiretroviral
therapy (ART) represent the main barrier to a cure for HIV. amfAR
intends to fund research that explores all curative approaches,
including reservoir removal, elimination of mechanisms that sustain the
reservoir, editing the provirus sufficiently to render it benign, or
suppressing the intact provirus, thus preventing pathogenicity.
Verifying that a cure has been achieved is a key challenge in HIV
research. A delay to viral rebound following treatment interruption is
currently the most definitive way to determine whether a curative
intervention has worked. Outcomes of research funded through this RFP
are expected to inform ensuing clinical or preclinical studies that aim
to predict whether a cure has been achieved, such as by determining
delay to viral rebound following treatment interruption.
Purpose of RFP
To fund biomedical research necessary to inform and design
interventions to 1) cure HIV, defined by the eradication of all
pathogenic virus from the body, or 2) bring about a state of remission
whereby the virus is controlled in the absence of ART and the person is
no longer infectious.
Specific areas of interest
In order of priority:
1. Proof-of-concept clinical studies testing cure interventions
2. Disabling or eradicating the HIV reservoir
3. Discovery and targeting of novel mechanisms to disrupt HIV reservoir persistence
Available funding
Innovation Grants provide funding of up to $200,000 (including
indirect costs at a maximum rate of 20%) over a two-year performance
period beginning on July 1.
Expected outcome
Research findings that provide strong preliminary data that inform
next-stage clinical or preclinical studies testing curative
interventions.
Eligibility
HIV researchers holding a doctoral degree and affiliated with nonprofit research institutes are eligible to apply.
Areas of Interest
1. Clinical proof of concept
Treatments currently approved for use in humans could have value in
eliminating or disabling the viral reservoir in HIV-infected
individuals and may permanently prevent viral rebound in the absence of
ART. Clinical proof-of-concept studies are expected to enroll a
circumscribed number of HIV-positive individuals to test the
intervention, use historical controls, and measure endpoints that
predict cure or remission.
2. Approaches that lead to disabling or eradicating the HIV reservoir
Research proposing novel mechanisms or substantially improved
approaches to eradicating or permanently disabling the reservoir cells
or the provirus are needed. Screens for latency-reversing agents will be
considered low priority.
3. Mechanisms that drive HIV reservoir persistence
Research aimed at discovering and targeting novel mechanisms that maintain the viral reservoir are needed. Research is expected to define, for example, novel and targetable
signaling mechanisms that maintain the reservoir. Studies aimed at
simply describing mechanisms of persistence are of extremely low
priority.
